There are five types of fuel oil burners in use at the present time, namely steam atomizing, high pressure air atomizing, low pressure air atomizing, spray nozzle or mechanical atomizing, and rotary mechanical atomizing. The selection of the proper type of burner involves many factors, some of which are of purely local significance. Thus, if very heavy oil is to be burned under boilers upon which the load varies greatly, the mechanical spray burner is at a serious disadvantage and the tendency of steam jet burners to "go out" with low fires must be considered. If medium or light gravity oil is to be used and the load is steady, either mechanical burners or steam burners will operate satisfactorily. The use of high pressure air burners is becoming obsolete for boiler plants but they are still used to advantage in some types of metallurgical furnaces.
The present invention is most particularly concerned with high pressure steam or other gaseous fluid atomizing burners. Burners of this type require fluid supply at pressures from 50 to 500 pounds per square inch. Such burners may require atomization fluid flow equal to up to 50 or 60 percent of the fuel flow mass rate. When this type of burner is used with a heavy liquid fuel such as pitch, there may be a problem with coke deposits on the tips of the burner. The deposits may interfere with the spray pattern and may eventually cause the burner to completely choke off. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to solving this and other problems as will be apparent from the following disclosure thereof.
Applicant is not aware of any prior art references which, in his judgment as one skilled in the burner art, would anticipate or render obvious the novel oil atomizer of the instant invention.